


Zombie Sister

by Hunter_Hikari



Series: Unundead [2]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: 3 will probably say fuck, F/F, injections cw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-01-11 05:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18423798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hunter_Hikari/pseuds/Hunter_Hikari
Summary: The healing begins.





	1. Chapter 1

Iika rolled onto her back and held her arm up to shield her eyes from the sunlight. She sits up and tilts her head to the left and right to stretch her neck. Ahh. That's better.

 

She rubs the drowsiness out of her eyes and notices that Taeko, as usual, is already up. She's holding a mug with a kitten painted on it.

 

"Repeat after me, okay? Cup. Cup."

 

Mizuta didn't seem to understand the point of the exercise. Oh, yeah. She's here too. Iika had almost forgotten.

 

The green Octoling reaches out and holds the cup in her hands. She seems intrigued by it, gently running her red-tipped, pointy finger down the side of the glazed pottery.

 

Gingerly, she puts the mug down. She's kneeling at the table quite formally, hands rested on her knees. Taeko, in contrast, sits legs-crossed in just a tattered tank top and shorts, Annaki Blue Cuff tied around her waist.   
  
"Oh, g'mornin, Eeks!"

 

"Mmm… yeah, mornin."

 

"Muh. Mo. Morni. Morni."

 

"So you  _ can  _ talk!"

 

Iika kneels down and looks Mizuta in the eye. She stares back, not a bit of emotion behind her eyes. Was she really in there?

 

"Can you understand us?"

 

An expression of mild confusion crossed her face.

 

"Let me try."

 

She turned back to the other Octoling.

 

"Can you understand us?"

 

Iika recognized it as an Octarian dialect and tone, much like the one Marina uses.

 

"Yes."

 

Taeko gasped and jumped up.

 

"She understands!!"

 

"Only you, though."

 

"But it's a start!"

 

Iika couldn't help but smile. Tae has an infectious energy so cheerful and optimistic that you'd never guess what she'd been through.

 

Tae hopped up at the sound of the beeping kettle and pulled out two more mugs from the cabinet. Hers was printed with cherry blossoms. Iika's said "I pretend coffee helps but I'm still a bitch.".

 

"Mizu, you want some tea?"

 

"Teh- Tuh- Tuh-ee."

 

"No, it's more like one syllable. Tea. One sound."

 

"Tea."

 

"You've got it! Want some?"

 

Mizuta, recognizing that the mugs held the tea, picks up the cat mug and hands it to Taeko. Iika slams hers under the coffee machine and ties her long tentacles up in a knot to keep them out of the way. Mizuta watches them both carefully, unconsciously reaching for her own tentacle obscuring her left eye. The tip slowly moves all on its own, like many Octolings' tentacles did. Her eyes lock onto it with a Bobby Fisher-like intensity, following its gentle swaying. She grabs for it, but likely in the interest of self-preservation, the tip slips out of her grasp. She continues this futile exercise for about a minute before she finally catches it and bites down on it. Unsurprisingly, this made her cry out in pain. Iika watched the whole thing with a blank stare.

 

"You okay over there?"

 

"She bit her tentacle."

 

"... Why?"

 

"Dunno. Predatory instinct?"

 

Mizu looks up at the two agents staring at her, whimpering quietly.

 

"Mizu…"

 

Taeko shakes her head and gently takes Mizuta's tentacle in her hands, giving it a small kiss. She backs away instinctively from this new sensation, but after a moment, scoots back up to Tae.

 

"More."

 

"Aaawwww! Eeks, she's so cuuute!"

 

Tae leans over the table and gives her a quick kiss on the forehead. She takes a few seconds to process it before her face flushes pink.

 

"Look. Her face. It's… pink?"

 

"You're right!"

 

"The pink tips and fingertips, plus the blush… I think that's her natural color."

 

"Just like me!"

 

The two of them stay silent as they observe the DJ, who, clearly not having learned, is chasing her tentacle again. Taeko takes a sip of her tea and picks up the papers she took from Tartar's office, reading them over once again.

 

"Ohh, it's no use."

 

"What's up?"

 

"Only the bare minimum is translated. I can't read the rest of this."

 

"Is it in Inkling text?"

 

"No… I don't recognize it at all."

 

"Here, lemme see."

 

Iika held the documents in one hand and downed the rest of her coffee while reading it out of the corner of her eye.

 

"Yeah, no wonder you can't read it. This is English."

 

"It's- it's what?"

 

"English. It's a long dead language that humans used to speak. A lot of the Scrolls I found in Octo Valley had English writing on them, so I took to Shellendorf and took out all their books on ancient tongues."

 

"Wooooow… that's really cool!"

 

"I guess you figured out basically what the rest of this is by looking at the numbers."

 

"Yep. Their numbers look funny!"

 

Iika skimmed the pages, noting that only some of it had actually been translated into outdated Octarian text. But it wasn't on a separate page, just scribbled next to the original text in what looked like just regular pencil. Weird.

 

"Not really much on here that you didn't already know."

 

"Huh. Where do we go from here?"

 

“The injection, right?”

 

Agent 8 looked over at the Sanitized Octoling. She had stopped listening and was trying to bite through an electrical cable. Iika, without looking up, swatted it out of her hands.

 

"Mizuta?"

 

She looked up and made a little noise indicating that she'd heard.

 

"We're going to help you get better, okay? It might take a while, but… We're going to bring you back from the… dead? Is she dead?"

 

"More like undead, really."

 

"Back from the undead, then. Unundead?"

 

Feeling a bit nervous, Taeko stood up and got the syringe. She filled it with ink and, hiding it behind her back, approached Mizuta.

 

"... How do we do this?"

 

"Like this."

 

Iika took the syringe from Tae, pulled up Mizuta's sleeve, and stuck it in. The Octoling hissed in pain, but she didn't move. The area around the injection quickly changed, a very slight tint of pink in the green.

 

"Look at that."

 

"This just might work…"


	2. Chapter 2

Getting used to having Mizuta around wasn't hard. Besides the occasional attempt to munch on Iika's long hair, she was a quiet and very well behaved guest. It was… kinda creepy. Had she always been like this, or was this a result of what the sanitization did to her mind?

 

"... Tae."

 

The Octoling looked up from her book.

 

"What's up?"

 

"Are you.. reading the dictionary I got you?"

 

"Yeah! I wanna learn how to read all of these someday! And I'll teach Mizu how to read Inkling too!"

 

Iika couldn't help but smile.

 

"Didja want something?"

 

"What was being in the Octarian military like?"

 

"That's.... a bit out of nowhere. Why do you ask?"

 

"... Just wondering."

 

"If this is about Mizu, I don't think she was ever part of the military. So I don't think you'll find the answer you're looking for. But I'd be glad to tell you anyway if you'd like."

 

"Please."

  
  
  


"Well… The army is very heavily segregated. The Octolings most people think of when they hear the word, the ones that are all over the surface now, are one breed. We handle engineering like Marina, building things, manual labor of various kinds, making food for the soldiers, healthcare for the wounded, et cetera. We all had general classes for these things, as well as basic self-defense training. As we mature, we're sorted into jobs that best suit our skills. I apparently showed incredible prowess in the battle simulations, so they sent me off to become a soldier. With… The Takozones. Something that rarely ever happened."

 

"The Takozones?"

 

"The Octolings  _ you  _ think of. Goggles, chestplates, high boots, bright red tentacles, sharp ink-stained fingers, green eyes… those are the Takozones. An all-female subspecies of asexually-reproducing Octarians."

 

"And… those are the soldiers?"

 

"Specifically bred for that purpose. And I was sent to work with them. At first, they were confused. What was just a normal Octoling doing in their battalion? But I proved myself to them. I was just as capable as they were. Even more so. I got higher training, and I eventually was put into the big leagues. The Elite Takozones."

 

"With the kelp?"

 

"Mm-hmm. But… I heard the Inkantation. And I didn't want to fight anymore. I didn't see any point in laying down our lives for an uncaring ruler. I didn't understand why the ones who didn't go to the concert didn't understand that. I was exiled from the army, and… I came up to the top of Octo Valley because I'd heard about a way to Inkopolis. I wanted to see it for myself. That's when you found me. And… past that it's a blur until I woke up in the Metro."

 

"... I didn't know the effect of the Inkantation was that powerful."

 

"It has some kind of mystical power to it. It was able to reverse Octavio's brainwashing. But… ever since we were little, we were taught that war was a glorious thing. Some day, we would reclaim the Zapfish and the surface for ourselves. That was our sole goal. But the ones that were out there, in battle… we saw war for the bullshit it is. Octavio spread propaganda, about how the Inklings were a dangerous species, how all that was on their predatory minds was wiping us out for good. He set up fake blackouts of entire cities, made the Department of Energy whip up false reports on how we were losing sources of electrical power. It was all staged. Just to try and motivate us to go out and capture the Zapfish. And we all believed it. We all bought it, hook, line, and sinker. That's what the brainwashing did to us. But the Inkantation changed all of that. We saw what Octavio was doing to us, how he treated us, what was really happening. You didn't want to hurt us. You only wanted what rightfully belonged to you. After you reclaimed Noodle- er, the Great Zapfish… I thought long and hard about what I was really fighting for. Self preservation? Glory? Pride? Hatred? Why did I fight you? We aren't all that different. Inklings and Octolings are closer genetically than we are to the Takozones at this point. The answer I eventually arrived at was that we were nothing but disposable to Octavio. The horrible nationalism, the fabricated motives. It was all just so he could keep jerking us around as his puppets. But it wasn't just the soldiers. Everyone under his ruling was nothing but a tool to him. Our teachers talked big game about war, and fighting for the Octarian race, and how the soldiers would be celebrated. I remember seeing all those hopeful faces. They thought they knew what war would be like. And… there were a few stragglers who only enlisted because they were forced to in order to not face social ostracization, and yet others who were drafted without a choice in the matter. After the Inkantation, we all realized that we'd been lied to. Sacrificed. Allowed to be sent off to die for our uncaring leader who would never so much as acknowledge our pains. And it had been this way the entire time. We had no lives outside of war. The culture of the Octarian race had been crushed in favor of the totalitarian regime. The paintings like the one you found weren't preserved. Music's only purpose was to hypnotize us further into complacency with our miserable conditions. Artists like Mizuta and Turquoise October were forced to produce their music in secret. It's all that kept us sane. Our entire race would have been fucked six ways from Sunday if it weren't for Inkopolis accepting us with open arms. I… I never want to go back. But… if there's anyone still trapped by that monster… I want to set them free like I was."

  
  
  
  


"That's… so fucked up."

 

"That's why the surface is an earthly paradise to me. I had no idea none of that was normal."

 

"... Holy shit, man. I… don't even know what to say."

 

"That's alright. I know it's a lot to take in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah enjoy that shit, fuckers  
> i cut my nail too short and it bled and now its wrapped like a fucking piece of meat at a deli but you know what i still want to write


	3. Chapter 3

The sullen mood still hung in the air. Iika couldn't help but dwell on all of the things she'd heard. While Taeko slept next to her, peaceful as Judd on a sunny day, she just stared up at the ceiling, arms rested behind her head. Before she knew it, cracks of sunlight began to peek through the curtains, and the faint chirping of birds on the windowsill signaled a new day. Grumbling, she went to get out of bed.

 

"Up already, Eeks?"

 

"You're one to talk! You were asleep two seconds ago!"

 

"Oh, jeez, you look wrecked. What happened?"

 

"I… couldn't really sleep."

 

"Oh, dear…"

 

Tae reached up and put her hand on Iika's cheek.

 

"Tell you what. You take the day off and try to get some rest. I'll take Mizu out on the town!"

 

"Are you sure that's okay? With, y'know,  _ the sanitization? _ "

 

"I think so!"

 

Can't argue with that.

 

"... Cool. You two have fun."

 

"Remember to take care of yourself, okay? Stay hydrated, and… keep an eye on the eye, okay?"

 

She referred, of course, to Iika's left eye. The Inkling unconsciously put a hand over it.

 

"It'll be okay."

 

"If it starts acting up again, call me, okay?!"

 

"Tae…"

 

"I'm worried about you, Eeks…"

 

"I promise. I'll let you know."

 

"Good!"

 

The eye. It'd simply become known as that. "How's the eye?" or "The eye any better?". After profusely apologizing for trying to kill Taeko and also for the shame her brainwashed self's ineptitude in battle brought upon her, Iika explained what actually happened while Agent 8 was on the run.

 

The goop on her face wasn't a topical application. She'd been given a syringe of it straight to the head. The sanitized ink and her own had a negative reaction when combined and the side of her face shattered like glass and burst open. The sanink then proceeded to do what it does best and made her its mindlessly aggressive bitch. Her body adapted to the new ink to survive, and that's how the group found her on the elevator. After Taeko managed to neutralize it, the harmful goo settled into a dormant sort of state. And so it had stayed since then. Only occasionally would pain flare up again, accompanied by a sickening bubbling noise and the neon blue-green cracks surrounding her eye glowing. It had been giving her particular trouble lately. Tae had every right to be concerned.

 

"It'll be fine. ...Probably."

 

"Good enough for me. Mizuuu!"

 

Mizu was having the time of her life banging on a pot with a wooden spoon. Not that her face was showing it.

  
  
  


Taeko lead Mizuta by the hand through Arowana Mall, which thankfully was not in the stage rotation for the day. The latter had traded her shades and black top for a pink hoodie and a pair of Octoglasses. She stopped every so often to stare at things through the shop windows, pressing her face against the glass.

 

“Mizu?”

 

“Look, look.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Mizuta’s eyes were locked on a television in the window.

 

“... What? The TV?”

 

“Ama.”

 

Tae had been on the surface for a few months, surrounded mostly by Inklings, so she had to do a bit of a double take. ‘Ama’ was one of the few words that wasn’t the same in Inklish and Octarian. Octarian culture had invented the word to refer to the Takozones, as a shortened version of “Amazon”. But over time it had just become another word for woman. She walked up next to the mesmerized Octoling and looked at the screen.

 

“Pretty Ama.”

 

“Oh, you mean Callie?”

 

A movie featuring the excitable Squid Sister as its heroine was playing on the TV to advertise its image quality. Tae had to admit, she did look pretty cool.

 

“... Clee?”

 

“N-no,  _ Callie. _ ”

 

“Clee!”

 

“... Clee it is.”

 

“Clee’s… pretty…”

 

“She is, isn’t she? You know, I heard a few years ago she and her friend Marie used to run the news together.”

 

Mizu apparently doesn’t have the processing power needed to listen and watch Callie at the same time. Tae grinned and snapped a photo of her.

 

[hachiko: look at this, it’s like a moth to a lamp]

 

[ca11ie: hey thats me!]

 

[hachiko: yep, she thinks you’re really pretty]

 

[ca11ie: awwww]

 

[agent.2: wholesome]

 

[hachiko: you guys wanna meet her?]

[ca11ie: yo fr? i’d love that]

 

[ca11ie: i heard about her when i was with the octos she made some absolute bangers]

 

[hachiko: rad! it’s a date then!]

 

[agent.2: callie’s first]   
  


[ca11ie: shut your up]

 

[SANGO: dont get your hopes up tae callie is married to the void]

 

[hachiko: go back to bed dear]


	4. Chapter 4

"Yo! Eight, over here!"

 

"Hey, hi."

 

"So this is her?"

 

Mizuta held fast to Tae's arm and observed the new company.

 

"Sure is."

 

"Why's she bioluminescent?"

 

"Um… long story short, she's sorta like a zombie? But she's not out for blood like most of em."

 

"... Yeah, that's not unsettling at all."

 

"I think it looks pretty cool! Like neon, almost."

 

"... Clee."

 

"Me?"

 

"Clee an' Mree."

 

"Yeah, okay, I can work with that."

 

"She's adorable!!"

 

"Ah- ahda- adarra…"

 

"Cute!"

 

"Kyuu-te."

 

"Not to alarm you, Eight, but I would kill a man for her."

 

"What?"

 

"That's just her way of saying that she likes her."

 

"Clee… pretty…"

 

"You're not bad yourself! And I heard you're a killer DJ!"

 

"... Not much anymore."

 

"Why not?"

 

She seemed to struggle to find the right words.

 

"Whuka whuka went kshhh."

 

She pantomimed spinning records on a turntable, then something like an explosion.

 

"Your equipment broke?"

 

She nodded, her tentacles bouncing. Callie made a "tsk" sound in sympathy.

 

"That's too bad. I would've jumped at the chance to sing with someone like you."

 

Mizu stared into the golden eyes of the squid sitting across from her. She gently let go of her tour guide's sleeve and put her hands down on the table.

 

She started with a simple, constant beat. Callie bobbed her head along to the rhythm, and the other two began to clap along. Soon, with the help of a piano app, the table had become a little musical party. The two sisters sang their hearts out, while Mizu played their melody. Tae, feeling vastly outdone by the talented trio, kept the original tempo going. A couple of passers-by even stopped to applaud them.

 

"Mmm… what to call that one?"

 

"Hope" was the first thing to come to Agent 8's mind. Hope that poor Mizuta Ahato could come back better than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it was kinda short, been feeling stuck lately
> 
> ..................... yes callie is gay and absolutely has a crush on one dj gal what do you want from me


End file.
